Scorned
by pompeypearly
Summary: After listening to Fate's Helmet and sacrificing herself for those she loved, Chloe finds that she has been forgotten by the man who mattered the most. In her anger, she turns to someone from her past for revenge.


Title: Scorned

Fandom: Smallville

Genre: Angst/Romance

Pairing: Chloe/Lex, hints of Chloe/Oliver, hints of Oliver/Dinah

Rating: PG

Spoilers: to the beginning of season 10 to cover myself!

Summary: After listening to Fate's Helmet and sacrificing herself for those she loved, Chloe finds that she has been forgotten by the man who mattered the most. In her anger, she turns to someone from her past for revenge.

Author Note: All comments and reviews are appreciated. For the sake of this fic, Oliver never exposed his identity to the world.

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><p>Chloe stared directly at the mirror as she buttoned her blouse, intent on avoiding any eye contact with the man behind her. He just lay there amongst the rumpled sheets, naked, with that damn smirk on his face.<p>

Sometimes, nothing would give her more pleasure than to scratch his eyes out. Wiping that arrogant look off permanently, and scarring him like he had her and so many others.

The problem was that she needed him. There was no love there, that was for sure. It wasn't even purely about the sex. It was about the power. He had it, and she needed to feel like she did too.

Control had been a large part of her life for so long. She had been Watchtower; she had had a purpose with a team of superheroes willing to listen.

Now she had nothing.

She had sacrificed for the man she loved, knowing that she would return to him one day. Oliver Queen was her hero and she was his. Or so she had thought.

It took her six months to make her way back to Metropolis, only to find the front pages mocking her return. Emblazoned across the front of a paper she had held so dear to her was the picture of Green Arrow and Black Canary's first kiss. The society pages taunted her with the relationship of Oliver Queen and his faithful girlfriend Dinah Lance, as they hosted the latest QI charity ball.

He had said he loved her. She made sure he would know she was still alive.

He was supposed to wait.

Chloe had waited outside of Luthorcorp for three hours waiting to catch a glimpse of him. She needed to see him, to see if it was true. He had finally emerged, holding the hand of the woman who she didn't want to see. They were smiling. He looked happy.

It was so unfair.

She had taken a chance on him, and given him her heart when all she had wanted to do was hold it behind tightly guarded walls.

Staring at the happy couple made her chest hurt. When he looked in her direction, she expected his eyes to look right through her, like she never existed at all. So when their eyes connected for a moment, she felt her heart stop. The shock was there on his face, and when he turned to look at the woman by his side, Chloe took the opportunity to leave. She grabbed the nearest taxi and just asked the driver to go.

She had heard Oliver call her name. She just hadn't had the strength to answer.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you? I think I'm offended."

The chiding voice snapped her free of her thoughts.

"I think that's highly unlikely, Lex."

Lex had been the reason for her return to Metropolis. During her struggle to return home she had stumbled across his location, and immediately she had sought out Oliver, the man she loved with all her heart. Her discoveries there had her holding her tongue and her secrets; they also led her directly to the door of a man she had hated for years.

There the deal was struck, and now here she was two month later, regularly sharing his bed.

"Has the guilt finally set in?"

She turned to face him, meeting his cool gaze with her own. "What possible guilt could I have?"

"You're fucking the one man your boyfriend hated enough to kill."

"Oliver is nothing to me anymore, and you are just as you described – a fuck."

Lex gracefully rose from the bed and walked towards her. With her still sitting, she knew that he was using his position as a power play.

"We both know I'm more than that."

Chloe laughed humourlessly.

"Please don't tell me that you are associating orgasms with feelings. I hate you, and that will never change."

"And I believe that. This is nothing more than a mutually beneficial partnership."

"Exactly."

She saw the edge of his lips curl before he turned his back to her and began to dress. "How will you feel when I reveal our intimate relationship to Oliver?"

"You know my feelings about this subject." She rolled her eyes at his question. He knew the answers to it. He knew everything.

"No. I know only of your request to have video footage of the conversation, as part of our deal."

Chloe sighed and slipped on her shoes. "Do we really need to have this conversation every time? Telling Oliver would hurt him; break part of his ego. I want to see that."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." He smirked before turning to join her back at the mirror.

"Please, let's not start with clichés. You gain from this as much as I do. You will cause Oliver pain and have the satisfaction of telling him to his face. No matter how far he has moved on from me, he will always regard me as something he needs to protect from you."

"Exploiting a man's weaknesses because of a broken heart? I hope Clark realises how lucky he is that you no longer pine for him."

"You're beginning to sound like a broken record Lex. There was a time when you were the embodiment of originality."

"Perhaps it's because you're unrecognisable to me now. I try to see glimpses of the naïve girl from Smallville, but I've yet to see her."

"I've changed."

"For the better."

"For once I'm not sure whether I should argue with you or not."

Lex placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her attention once again. "I'm going to bring Queen to his knees, along with everyone associated with him. Can you live with that?"

"Yes." Her answer required little thought.

She thought it was unlikely Lois would be touched, and Clark would protect her if her cousin's mouth ran too far. As for the rest? They had abandoned her, too. She knew Oliver had told them that she was alive, and no one helped to bring her back. After everything she had done for each and every one of them. She had sacrificed her life, her loves, her career, and her relationships. She was done.

Seeing Oliver with Dinah had killed the last spark of warmth that she had in her heart. There was nothing but pain and disappointment there now.

"Just promise me that you will go through with it Lex. I need you to keep your end of the deal."

"And do you think that merely fucking me is the way to hurt him the most?" Lex lowered his head so his mouth was in line with her ear. "I think your hate has prevented you from thinking clearly."

"So you're saying this is a waste of my time?"

"Not at all. I think that this could be the beginning of something far more complex," he said before lightly biting her earlobe. "Queen would be upset that you had fucked his enemy, but how do you think he would feel to see you on my arm?"

His touches were distracting and Chloe was sure that she had misheard him. "What?"

"Think about it, Chloe. When I come back from the dead, my face will be everywhere. Queen will be watching oh so closely, and every time he sees my face, he would see yours right beside mine. Smiling, happy, and in a very loving relationship. The woman who brought me back to life."

"You've been thinking about this for a while haven't you?"

"From the moment you offered this arrangement."

"So, you want me to appear on your arm as the besotted girlfriend?" She smirked at the thought of Oliver's reaction. Ever Clark's would be worth seeing. "I could do it."

"Girlfriend? You're still thinking like a small town girl." He brushed a blonde curl away from her cheek. "Girlfriends pass through my life with relative ease, but marriage? That is more important."

Chloe laughed aloud. "Lex, even I have trouble remembering just how many wives you've had."

"Think about it Chloe. If you were my wife, committed to standing by my side, not wanting and then refusing his inevitable rescue…what do you think that would do to him?"

"Clark too, I take it?"

"Of course."

"If I were to do this, would I have to spend time in their company for long?"

"It would be inevitable our paths would cross socially. Queen has stolen Luthorcorp from me after all, and I will be obliged to be seen in public. However, there is no obligation on your part to even speak to him."

"I can't believe I am actually considering this. We don't even like each other."

"That has very little to do with marriage. Respect, however, can go far. Despite the resentment and frustration I have felt for you over the years, I have always respected you, Chloe. I have always admired your intelligence, your tenacity, and your determination."

"How long do you wish the marriage to last for?"

"I see no problem with this being a long term arrangement. I have no desire to pursue the vapid, selfish women I once desired in the past."

"Still bitter they all tried to kill you?"

He huffed out an amused laugh. "At least if my fourth wife made an attempt on my life, I could be comforted that I may have deserved it."

Chloe laughed unexpectedly. It had been the first time she had laughed for many months, and it felt strangely good. The real surprise was that it had been Lex who had coaxed it from her.

"The constant threat would keep the excitement in our marriage at least."

"So is that an acceptance of my proposal?"

"There are a lot of things to think about, Lex. I really do not see the benefits in a long term arrangement like this."

"I have plans for the future, Chloe, and for those my public image would be improved with a stable marriage. I would prefer the woman by my side to have intelligence with no hidden agenda of her own"

"You're moving into politics?"

"Like I sad - intelligence."

Staring into the mirror she focused on the reflection of his eyes. He was completely serious about this. "What are the long term benefits for me Lex? I think you greatly overestimate the value I hold in people's lives if you think our relationship would impact their lives for that long."

"Your skills and talents have always given you a sense of pride, but you still have an unhealthy habit of underestimating your own worth.

"You will be a constant reminder of their failures, that they were the cause of your fall from grace. Their attention will be divided every time they see you, or read out names in print. You willingly sleep with the devil because they didn't care enough. Guilt is a very powerful thing, and it very rarely disappears."

"But you'd be married to me Lex. You would have to tolerate me in your life, even you wouldn't be able to keep an arranged marriage from the press."

"If you agree to this, I intend on taking full advantage of the marriage - Sex, co-habitation, even children if the need arises." He moved the chair she was sitting in so he could look directly into her eyes.

"Children? You would bring children into this mess?"

"Think about it. This could be the most stable relationship you would ever know. You could lead your life however you wanted, have whatever you desire, all the while knowing that every happy moment you have will hurt Oliver Queen."

He was a master of manipulation, but this time she was willing to be his focus. She would accept his proposal because in a way he was right. A stable marriage, love, children, a career…the chance to have all of those things was sacrificed for others. As time wore on she might even be able to like the guy, and it would be good that she could never trust him entirely. It would stop her from falling in love with the lie. That, and she knew that the sex would be good.

Lex wasn't just offering her revenge, but a partnership and the chance to recover some of what she had lost.

Chloe stood, looking up into his face with confidence. "There are a few things we will need to settle before we go through with it, but my answer is yes. I'll marry you Lex."

She offered her hand and he shook it. What was one more deal with the devil?


End file.
